Personal Finance Advice

As children, we are often taught by our parents to do well in school, go to college and get a good job to succeed financially in life? We have all heard that being active and hard work will make us healthy and wealthy. But being an active participant isn’t always good for your financial health. [...]

My family has long had a love hate relationship with zucchini. My grandparents, mom and I have planted one plant each and every year for as long as I can remember. Until about mid-August every loaf of fresh-baked zucchini bread tastes like it came straight from heaven. But then it happens. At the end [...]

With the costs of health care rising dramatically every year, both companies and individuals are trying to find ways to lessen the financial pain. One option is a (HDHP) coupled with a Health Savings Account (HSA).
Many of you may already have this option, or your company is rolling this out in the near [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week:

Does $250K per year make you rich?
Pinching pennies like your grandparents
Vacation Homes Without All the Expense
Cash only, please
Is Organic Food Worth The Price?
Alabama Taxes Fat People
Worth Its [...]

My home improvement project list never seems to get any shorter. Unfortunately, my budget doesn’t get any bigger. I’ve had to be pretty creative and really look for ways to save money while personalizing and renovating my house. Fortunately there are a lot of resources available to renovators with grand plans but tiny budgets. [...]

Kids often view cash and gift cards as things that need to be used immediately. I recall how my now grown son spent all of his birthday money within two days after he had received it, often wasting it on things that he never used. When I voiced concern or suggested [...]

While I currently work for myself, there was a time when I actually worked for a large corporation. My time there taught me that corporate life wasn’t the career path that I ultimately wanted to walk down, but that didn’t stop me from learning a lot of solid advice from the mentors I met there [...]

Getting my finances in order sucks. It sucks even more when I have idiots teaching me how to do it.
Since I am now writing for a personal finance blog, I decided that I should actually try and get my finances in order. Usually I would call my sister and ask her for help in such [...]

After years of struggling to justify the cost of dog ownership, I have compiled a list of chores for my dogs to do that save me money and time. Training was simple, since most duties are derived from their natural instincts. I find myself with more time, more money and less stress. Most dogs would [...]

Mother Nature can give us a lot of free entertainment. There are few things more relaxing than hiking through the woods on a Saturday morning or sitting outside on a Sunday afternoon and watching the sunset. Mother Nature can also wreak havoc on your home and possessions when she decides to dump too [...]

Not that long ago it was taboo to speak about money in public. But now, as with so many other things, talking about money has become more acceptable. I hear it all the time. Friends have asked me what kind of debt we have, wanting me to break it down into car payments, credit cards, [...]

People have gotten into debt for a variety of reasons. Some is due to their own fault while others aquired the debt from circumstances beyond their control. While it’s important to understand why you got into debt so that you can take the necessary steps so that it doesn’t happen again, the fact is that [...]

No matter how careful you are about your spending, there is still a chance the product or service you receive will not live up to your expectations. However, having your problem resolved is not always as simple as contacting customer service, a salesperson or even a manager. These people are not always authorized to give [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week:

Printer Ink Hacks: How to fight back when your printer says you’re out of ink
Where to turn when you’re desperate
The Next Credit Crunch
Savers are the losers in today’s tough times
[...]

I went to my share of birthday parties as a child and without exception they were of singular focus – to celebrate the birthday of a friend or relative. All attention was placed on the “person of the day” or persons in the case of twins or triplets. Getting to play games with [...]

If you have a pet or are thinking about getting one, you know that they can be expensive. Lovable, but expensive. In addition to food and supplies, the biggest expense of owning a pet is likely to be vet bills. When they’re little they need lots of vaccinations and spay/neuter surgery. When they get older [...]

If you’re reading this, chances are good that you have regular access to a computer and an Internet connection. You probably rely on your computer to accomplish a lot of things (and waste some time), but do you realize that computers and the Internet are some of the most powerful tools you can have in [...]

I hate Paris Hilton. I hate her a lot more than I did a few hours ago. I can thank my sister for that.
My sister, to put it bluntly, is a royal pain in the butt. This is a feeling that many siblings share, but I can guarantee that my sister is much more [...]

I’m very careful with my money, but everything about it is not clear as crystal. Every year around January, questions I have to ask about taxes, income, claims and reporting. Later, around September, I do my business finances and re-configure my rates (I work on the school’s calendar year). I wake up and my [...]

If you’re shopping for a house, one of the biggest favors you can do yourself is getting educated about the complicated process of applying for a mortgage. A mortgage is probably the most expensive obligation you’ll ever have, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to get taken advantage of.
Despite [...]